Industry News – March/April 2015

New Four-Passenger Electric Vehicle is Great for Neighborhood Transportation, Small Businesses and Golf

Club Car introduces the versatile new Precedent Stretch personal transportation vehicle (PTV). It combines unsurpassed power and durability with four forward-facing seats and 35 additional inches of legroom, for people who want to take the long view. In the Precedent Stretch PTV, you don’t have to leave a friend or relative behind or sitting on a rear-facing seat.

“The vehicle’s automotive design fosters conversation, camaraderie and comfort. It delivers the most front and rear legroom of any four-passenger vehicle in its class,” says Product Manager David Woodward

The Precedent Stretch PTV comes with a maximum speed of 15 mph or with Club Car’s 19-mph Private Use Speed Option, making it ideal for neighborhood transportation.

Engineered to Carry the Load

Many small four-passenger vehicles are simply traditional golf cars that have been extended by a third-party provider, often putting the OEM warranty at risk. The Precedent Stretch PTV was designed to carry the additional length and weight. The car is equipped with 10 percent more battery capacity, providing more range than competitive vehicles. The system features:

•A rugged 3.7-hp IQ Plus™ electric motor

•A 350-amp controller

•A heavy-duty solenoid

•Four-gauge battery wires

•Regenerative brakes that capture and store energy used during braking, extending the miles per charge

The vehicle uses no gas and releases no carbon emissions. It comes with:

Club Car vehicles are sold through Authorized Club Car Dealers. To find a dealer near you, visit www.clubcardealer.com.

MAN CHARGED WITH BURGLARY OF GOLF CART SPECIALISTS, LLC, LIMERICK

A Douglassville man has been charged after police responded to a reported burglary at Golf Cart Specialists LLC.

Brandon Hoffmaster, 23, of Douglassville is facing charges after allegedly committing a burglary to support a heroin addiction, according to court documents.

Police were dispatched to the business at 126 Industrial Parkway on Nov 3., where they discovered forced entry was made through a rear garage overhead door. Officers found a window in the overhead door smashed out. They then determined that once the burglar was inside, forced entry was made into the Corporate Controllers Office by smashing a large window after a failed attempt to break open the office door with a sledge hammer, according to police.

A box containing $400 cash, an Apple iPad valued at $736.64 and a video projector valued at $250 were taken. Other offices and rooms inside the business were ransacked and damage was caused to additional property, according to court documents.

The business had also experienced thefts from the warehouse shop in previous months which included a missing Echo Gas BPK Lo-Noise leaf blower, an Echo 14 gas chain saw, a Dewalt Battery Grinder/Buffer and a Snap On three-eights-inch cordless impact tool. At the time, it was suspected that an employee was involved in the thefts and possibly the burglary, according to police. The business suffered a total loss of $1,113.98 Between items stolen during the thefts and the items taken during the burglary, Golf Cart Specialists LLC suffered a total loss of $2,500.62.

Police made contact with Hoffmaster when they arrived to take the burglary report. Hoffmaster had worked as a general laborer in the warehouse. He was found outside the business before management had arrived. After consenting to a vehicle search, police found drug paraphernalia consisting of needles and used waxen bags commonly related to heroin abuse, according to police.

On Nov. 6 Hoffmaster was interviewed by police where he admitted to the theft of the leaf blower, grinder and chain saw. He also admitted to stealing the items to support his heroin addiction. He informed police that he has taken the items to local pawn shops to trade for cash to purchase heroin. He denied being involved in the burglary, police said.

Hoffmaster was interview again on Nov. 7. He then admitted to committing the burglary. Hoffmaster explained to police that he had smashed the overhead garage door to gain access on Nov. 1 at around 7 a.m. He then explained that he forced entry into the office and took the iPad, video projector and cash box. Hoffmaster again admitted to stealing the items to pawn for cash to support his heroin addiction. He then informed police that he damaged additional property so that it would appear to have been committed by a non-employee.

Hoffmaster is being charged with burglary, criminal trespassing, theft, receiving stolen property, criminal mischief and use or possession of drug paraphernalia. He faced a preliminary arraignment on Nov. 7 before District Judge Walter F. Gadzicki and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 17 again before District Judge Walter F. Gadzicki. He was unable to post the set $10,000 cash bail and is being held at Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

Reliant™ AGM with C-Max Technology™, the industry’s first true deep-cycle AGM battery, is now available from Trojan Battery Co., LLC, the world’s leading manufacturer of deep-cycle batteries.Reliant AGM maximizes sustained performance and increases total energy output to meet demanding deep-cycling requirements in Trojan’s wide range of market applications.

Reliant™ AGM is manufactured in the U.S. at Trojan’s newest production facility in Sandersville, Ga., and applications including aerial work platform, floor cleaning, golf, material handling, recreation, renewable energy, and remote telecom will benefit from its true deep-cycle design. Reliant™ AGM is also designed to power equipment used in locations where regulatory mandates require use of non-spillable batteries such as airports, healthcare facilities, shopping centers, educational institutions, etc.

“Trojan’s Reliant AGM is specifically engineered for deep-cycling applications, unlike most AGM batteries on the market today which are designed for dual-purpose or standby applications, such as UPS backup,” said Dave Godber, Trojan Battery’s executive vice president of sales and marketing.“Trojan has focused on deep-cycle technology longer than any other battery manufacturer in the industry and has utilized our extensive expertise and knowledge in developing the industry’s most reliable deep-cycle AGM battery.” Incorporating premium components, state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques, a dual-sided pasting process and superior quality control, Reliant™ AGM delivers exceptional quality and reliability the Trojan brand is known for.

“Trojan’s Reliant line of true deep-cycle AGM batteries feature elements that offer a new direction in AGM technology,” said Gordon Beckley, senior vice president of engineering and quality assurance at Trojan Battery.“As the only true deep-cycle AGM battery on the market today, Reliant AGM is a completely new AGM design, which our engineering team has been developing for the last several years.After extensive market research and meeting with our customers to determine their specific requirements for deep-cycle AGM batteries, Trojan’s engineering team set out to develop a true deep-cycle AGM battery to meet these market demands.”

•Maximum Flame Arrestors – Features one flame arrestor for each cell for maximum safety.

For more information on Trojan Battery Co., visit www.trojanbattery.com.

GRAND JURY GETS CASE OF GOLF CAR BATTERIES STOLEN IN JAMES CITY

Three felony charges against a Toano man accused of stealing two dozen golf cart batteries from a shuttered golf course in James City were certified to a grand jury Thursday in general district court.

District Judge Colleen Kililea found probable cause on charges of breaking and entering, grand larceny and conspiracy to commit grand larceny against 29-year-old Benjamin P. Hogge during a preliminary hearing. Additional counts of breaking and entering, grand larceny and conspiracy as well as two counts each of larceny with intent to sell and obtaining money by false pretenses were dropped.

Jerry Snead, a caretaker at Colonial Golf Course on Diascund Road, testified that on Nov. 4, 2014, he was at the property and noticed a white Jeep with the back door open near the golf cart garage. He said as he approached a white male shut the door, jumped in the passenger seat and the Jeep sped off.

The next day he Snead noticed some batteries had been moved and some were missing along with some copper, according to his testimony. Asked if James City Police Chief Brad Rinehimer maintained game cameras on the property, Snead answered yes.

A criminal complaint against Hogge indicates surveillance footage from Nov. 3, 2014 showed two white males matching the description of Hogge and 27-year-old Adam Lawrence Alspaugh on the property. Cathy Black, deputy commonwealth attorney, submitted a photograph of two white males at the golf course as evidence.

At 12:24 p.m. on Nov. 4, 2014, Alspaugh sold 24 Trojan brand golf cart batteries to James City Recycling, according to the complaint against Hogge. Police said the batteries were valued at $3,500.

Investigator Kathy Swanson with James City police testified that she responded to the recycling center, noting that the business’s records indicate a white Jeep Cherokee had dropped off golf cart batteries on that day. She added that copper had been brought to the recycling center the day before. The complaint states Alspaugh was the person who sold it.

Hogge’s girlfriend told the court that her sister’s white Jeep Cherokee had been left at the house for Alspaugh and Hogge to use on Nov. 4, but she had no knowledge of whether they had driven it. She said Hogge indicated he and Alspaugh had been together that day and that the Jeep had been moved from its original parking spot.

Alspaugh was indicted in January on two counts of grand larceny in connection with the incident.